We look at food labels for different reasons. Name, brand, age group, cost, country. But whatever the reason, many consumers would like to know how to use this information more effectively and easily.
Making the right healthy food choices is an essential part of our everyday life. However, discovering the best and most precise information is somehow confusing.
Food labels help greatly in choosing a healthy food product. Information found on the front, side, and even at the back of food packages can help in recognizing the healthful benefits that it can offer. If one needs to eat less fat or sugar, more calcium or fibre – the Nutrition Facts on the food labels can surely help. Visit the best dietician in Dubai at Aster Hospital for tips on a good diet.
Here few suggestions to understand about food label
SERVING SIZE
Serving sizes are standardised to make it easier to compare similar foods; they are provided in familiar units, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount, e.g., the number of grams.
CALORIE
Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food. The calorie section of the label can help you manage your weight (i.e., gain, lose, or maintain.)
General Guide to Calories
- 40 Calories is low
- 100 Calories is moderate
- 400 Calories or more is high
The General Guide to Calories provides a general reference for calories when you look at a Nutrition Facts label. This guide is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Visit a Top Dietician in Dubai to consult accordingly.
THE NUTRIENTS
Limit these Nutrients. Eating too much fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure
SODIUM
In the supermarket, your best ally is the Nutrition Facts Label on product packages, which lists how much sodium is in each serving.
As a guideline, to include a “sodium-free or salt-free” claim on the label, a product cannot exceed 5 milligrammes of sodium per serving.
A product with a “low sodium” claim must not exceed 140 mg per serving.
A “no salt added or unsalted” claim on the label does not mean the food is “sodium-free.”
Compare food labels and choose the product with the lowest amount of sodium.
FATS
Read the Nutrition Facts panel on foods you buy at the store and, when eating out, ask what kind of oil foods are cooked in. Replace the trans fats in your diet with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats
- Use naturally occurring, unhydrogenated vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower or olive oil most often.
- Look for processed foods made with nonhydrogenated oil rather than partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils or saturated fat.
- Use soft margarine as a substitute for butter, and choose soft margarine (liquid or tub varieties) over harder stick forms. Look for “0 g Trans fat” on the Nutrition Facts label and no hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list.
VITAMINS, MINERALS AND FIBRE.
These are the dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, Iron, Calcium.
Eating enough of these nutrients can improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and conditions. Eating a diet high in dietary fibre promotes healthy bowel function.
In the nutrition label; check for the percentage. High is 20 per cent or more. Aim high in vitamins, minerals and fibre.
FOOTNOTE
Understand the footnote on the bottom of the nutrition fact label. These are the Daily Values (DV) for each nutrient listed and are based on public health experts’ advice.
DVs are recommended levels of intakes. DVs in the footnote are based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet.
INGREDIENTS
Foods with more than one ingredient must have an ingredient list on the label.
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. Those in the largest amounts are listed first.
This information is particularly helpful to individuals with food sensitivities or allergy. Those who wish to avoid food allergens, limit added sugars or people who prefer vegetarian eating.
Carbohydrates source we can find out for a healthy reason. Whole grain cereals are always best than refined flour. Fructose or milk sugars are different from simple table sugar or corn syrups.
The protein we can check the ingredients like milk-based, soya extracts, whey, chicken extract, beef extract.
Flavor enhancer
Natural flavouring substances- derived from natural ingredients. From plant or animal raw material by physical, microbial or enzymatic processes.
Nature identical flavouring substances- these are obtained by synthesis through the chemical process. They cannot contain artificial substances.
Artificial flavouring substance- these are not identified in a natural product intended for human consumption. Although they are chemically different sensory characteristics they are the same as natural.
Food additives
Are substances added to food to preserve flavour or enhance its taste and appearances.
Examples are acidity regulator, anti-caking agents, antifoaming or foaming agents, emulsifiers, food colouring and much more.
Food additives, enhancers are written in code. Country to country their usage is different, limit values are different. Some additives are banned or unbanned.
Visit Aster Hospital, the best hospital in Dubai for a comprehensive consultation with a dietician.
Most of the research articles found to be a negative impact on human health on frequent consumption. They might cause allergic reactions, hyperactivity in children.
Some food components are mentioned under the topic of additives. Example egg can be mentioned under the heading enhancer or stabiliser instead of name egg. So it becomes difficult to track the original component to avoid allergy or in the case of the vegan diet.
Avoid more and frequent consumption of processed food on daily basis.
Choose the food product by spending some time observing the nutrition fact label. Instead, just name the product or cost.
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